Shalla Thistlewind
"Though the wilds call to my heart, duty calls to my honor." Early Life Born in the temperate rainforest of Feralas, Shalla was weak- it was assumed the calf would die within the week. Thanks to the tireless efforts of her parents, she survived- though remained stunted and frail until the age of five. Feralas was a largely wild place, there were not yet any ogres, and the Night Elves kept to themselves. Rich with life and full of untamed beasts, the thick forest brought out an obvious affinity for nature in the young tauren. Never fidning appeal in tracking, Shalla preffered working with the herbalists and spiritwalkers. The Windstalker tribe was known for its proud and excellent Pathstalkers- what would they do with... her? Over the years, the centaur clans of Thousand Needs began earnest incursions into Feralas, pillaging and burning any tauren camps they came across. Before long the entire tribe was forced to abandon the land of their ancestral wandering. The Taming of Kalimdor Shortly after her sixteenth hunt, the Orcs arrived on the shores of Kalimdor. By this time, many taruen tribes had concentrated themselves in the Barrens, a last-ditch effort for survival. Honoring the call of the noble Cairne Bloodhoof, the tattered remnants of the Windstalkers joined the unified Tauren nation that now stood alongside their Orcish allies. With both parents gone, Shalla was a ward of her tribe- but what Pathstalker would take a quiet, placid herbalist under their wing? Luckily, one of the results of Third War was the return of druidism to the Tauren. Her caretakers knew exactly what to do with her: send her away to Moonglade with the Runetotems. The Rise of the Qiraji & Shadow of the Necropolis Still too young and untrained to be on the forefront of combat, Shalla is part of the "aftermath recovery" efforts for both of these wars. In conjuction with her training, she is assigned the task of helping heal the wolds ravaged by the Qiaji and Scourge. During the preparations for the seige of the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj, Shalla is fortunate enough to meet Shahrak Runetotem and the Shattered Oath. The company becomes her only home outside of the Moonglade, and a link to the Horde. Not yet a Warden, Shalla is free to march alongside the Oath in various Horde campaigns. The Seige of Outland Shalla remains largely absent from the shatterd world of Draenor, too busy studying druidic arts and assiting the Circle in the healing of Felwood and the Plaguelands. She makes only a few token visits through the portal, so she does no lose connection with the Shattered Oath soldiers who ahve been sent there. The Snows of Northrend Growing increasingly absorbed in druidic ways, Shalla's abscence in Outland is duplicated in Nothrend. She has little thought for affairs outside the Moonglade- until the events at the Wrathgate. The Shattered Oath is obliterated at Angrathar, no survivors are reported. Guilty over abandoning her friends to their fate, Shalla sinks into a deep depression and isolates herself within the Moonglade, eschewing the company of even other druids. The Cataclysm The wounds to the earth caused by the Cataclysm, combined with the growing orcish war machine, draw the full attention of the Cenarion Circle. Now a Warden in her own right, Shalla is dispatched to Orgrimmar from the Moonglade. The Circle hopes that her close ties to the Horde's military forces will make her a good bearer of the request to reconsider their war. In a happy twist of fate, Shalla encounters her old friend: Shahrak. The Old Bear is one of few survivors of the old Shattered Oath; and graciously admits the druid into the new fold.